Galaxy British Book Awards. Winners. Shortlists. News.

The Galaxy British Book Awards are given annually and promoted by the UK publishing industry trade journal Publishing News. They are also known as the Nibbies. One of Britain's most popular literary prizes, it has recently undergone a consolidation process to make it all a bit more manageable. Hopefully, with the reorganisation for this years award, it will settle down to a consistent format so that we can compare like with like as the years go by.

The standard is getting better each year and we have noted a steady increase in interest in the award on our sister site in America, BookAwardsOnline.com and in Australia on LiteraryAwards.com.au.

JK Rowling, Ian McEwan and Khaled Hosseini top prize list for 2008

J.K. ROWLING (right)who received her first Nibbie ten years ago for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (Book 1), and then went on to collect another three over the intervening years, received her fifth Nibbie this year when she was presented with the Book People Outstanding Achievement Award at the Galaxy British Book Awards held, once again, at London's Grosvenor House Hotel. The accolade, coming as the Potter saga closes, crowns a glittering decade, and provides a neat symmetry to an extraordinary period in British publishing.

The Nibbies has always been about the book trade 'family' coming together and this year, that feeling extended to the stage, with Jonathan Ross, brother-in-law of Richard & Judy Executive Producer Amanda Ross,presenting the first ever Galaxy Book of the Year, which went to Ian McEwan for On Chesil Beach(Vintage). The award is chosen by a 12-strong panel of experts from the Academy of the British Book Awards. The night marked a significant "double" for McEwan, who was also was named Reader's Digest Author of the Year for On Chesil Beach . Guests saw film of McEwan accepting the award - his first Nibbie - in San Francisco where he has been on a lecture tour.

There was little surprise at Khaled Hosseini's A Thousand Splendid Suns (Bloomsbury) winning the coveted Richard & Judy Best Read of the Year, which will add another boost to what are already very impressive sales. His fellow R&J author Kim Edwards received the Sainsbury's Popular Fiction Award for The Memory Keeper's Daughter (Penguin).

Catherine O'Flynn was named Waterstone Newcomer of the Year, a popular win for booksellers who have already enjoyed strong sales of her What Was Lost (Tindal Street).
For Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boorman, 'down' has proved more successful than 'round'.' Long Way Down (Sphere) won the Play.com Popular Non-Fiction Award - the previous title received a shortlisting for TV & Film Book in 2005. The same house also saw success with the Booksdirect Crime Thriller of the Year which went to Patricia Cornwell for Book of the Dead.

Finally, from Harry to Henry. Francesca Simon's Horrid Henry And The Abominable Snowman (Book & CD) (Horrid Henry Book & CD) (Orion) won the WHSmith Children's Book of the Year, which would have children's books naughtiest character squealing with delight.

The full list of 2008 winners:

The Galaxy Book of the Year
On Chesil Beachby Ian McEwan

Reader's Digest Author of the Year Award
On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan

The Book People Outstanding Achievement Award
JK Rowling

Richard & Judy's (left)Best Read of the Year
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

WH Smith Children's Book of the Year Award
Horrid Henry And The Abominable Snowman by Francesca Simon Published by Orion

Tesco Biography of the Year Award
My Booky Wook by Russell Brand

Books Direct Crime Thriller of the Year Award
Book of the Dead by Patricia Cornwell

Waterstone's Newcomer of the Year Award
What Was Lost by Catherine O'Flynn

Sainsbury's Popular Fiction Award
The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards

Play.com Popular Non-Fiction Award
Long Way Down by Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman

Full 2008 Galaxy British Book Award Shortlists Links

Richard & Judy (left) Best Read of the Year
Ten titles, each a good read, but only one will be named Richard & Judy Best Read of the Year

2008 Shortlist

Random Acts of Heroic Love, Danny Scheinmann, Black Swan / Transworld
Thousand Splendid Suns , Khaled Hosseini, Bloosmbury- winner
The Rose Of Sebastopol, Katharine McMahon, Weidenfeld & Nicolson / Orion
A Quiet Belief In Angels, RJ Ellory, Orion
Notes from an Exhibition, Patrick Gale, Fourth Estate / HarperCollins
Then We Came to the End, Joshua Ferris, Viking / Penguin
The Visible World, Mark Slouka, Portobello Booksu
Mister Pip, Lloyd Jones, John Murray / Hodder Headline
Blood River: A Journey to Africa's Broken Heart, Tim Butcher, Chatto / RandomHouse
The Welsh Girl, Peter Ho Davies , Sceptre / Hodder Headlinea

2008 Readers Digest Author of the Year

Five authors who have made waves with their writing, including the winner of the 2007 Nobel Prize for Literature

Shortlist

Khaled Hosseini for A Thousand Splendid Suns Bloomsbury
Doris Lessing for The Cleft Fourth Estate
Ian McEwan for On Chesil Beach Jonathan Cape
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie for Half of a Yellow Sun HarperPerennial
David Peace for The Damned Utd Faber & Faber& Faber

2008 Waterstone's Newcomer of the Year
Five writers who have made an impact with their first published books

Shortlist

Rajiv Chandrasekaran Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Baghdad's Green Zone Bloomsbury
Catherine O'Flynn What Was Lost Tindal Street
Stef Penney The Tenderness of Wolves Quercus
Paul Torday Salmon Fishing in the Yemen Weidenfeld & Nicolson
Markus Zusak The Book Thief Doubleday

2008 WHSmith Children's Book of the Year
20 titles - four in each age category - are on the Children's Book of the Year long list. The winner in each category has formed the shortlist

Shortlist

That's Not My Penguin Fiona Watt Usborne
Horrid Henry And The Abominable Snowman (Book & CD) Francesca Simon Orion Children's Books
Katie Price's Perfect Ponies: My Pony Care Book Katie Price Red Fox
Born to Run Michael Morpurgo HarperCollins Children's
Kiss Jacqueline Wilson Doubleday Children's

2008 Books Direct Crime Thriller of the Year
Three masters and two mistresses of the criminal genre have produced some of their finest work yet.

Shortlist

Bad Luck and Trouble Lee Child Bantam Press
Book of the Dead Patricia Cornwell Little,Brown
The Tin Roof Blowdown James Lee Burke Orion
The Grave Tattoo Val McDermid Harper
Exit Music Ian Rankin Orions

2008 Sainsbury's Popular Fiction Award
An eclectic, international mix, three from well-established authors and two from first-time novelists

The Memory Keeper's Daughter (Thorndike Paperback Bestsellers) Kim Edwards Penguin
The Ghost Robert Harris, Hutchinson
A Thousand Splendid SunsKhaled Hosseini, Bloomsbury
The House at RivertonKate Morton, Pan
An Absolute Scandal Penny Vincenzi Headline Review

2008 PLAY.com Popular Non-fiction Award
Broadcasters and TV personalities dominate this list, which draws on popular culture, food and travel.

Shortlist

Don't Stop Me Now Jeremy Clarkson, Michael Joseph
Nigella Express Nigella Lawson, Chatto & Windus
A History of Modern Britain Andrew Marr, Macmillan
The Wild Places Robert Macfarlane, Granta
Long Way Down, Ewan McGregor & Charlie Boorman, Sphere

2008 Tesco Biography of the Year
Five of the most astonishing biographies of the last year. Though each very different from the other, all showcase lives extremely well-lived.

Shortlist

My Booky Wook Russell Brand Hodder & Stoughton
The Blair Years Alastair Campbell H
Spilling the BeansClarissa Dickson-Wright Hodder & Stoughton
On The Edge Richard Hammond Weidenfeld & Nicolson
Agent Zigzag: The True Wartime Story of Eddie Chapman, Lover, Betrayer, Hero, Spy Ben MacIntyre Bloomsbury

The Book People Lifetime Achievement Award
This Award recognises an enduringly popular author whose books have made an outstanding contribution to contemporary literature.

Popular US Author Grisham Wins 2007 British Award

John Grisham (right) was awarded the highly regarded Life Achievement Award at the 2007 British Book Awards. Obviously impressed with occasion, Grisham told the gathered throng, "I can't wait to go back to the States with this Nibbie and tell people how books should be celebrated". Grisham's, Playing for Pizza is currently a best seller in the UK and the USA.

It seems that religion is very much in the firing line at the moment. The author of the controversial book,The God Delusion, Richard Dawkins, was the 2007 Author of the year.

Just to prove th peter_kay at mega-talent is bestowed on but a few, comedian, Ricky Gervais,best known his cult show, The Office, won Children's Book of the Year for Flanimals of the Deep.

Other winners included another comedian Peter Kay (left), for his highly entertaining autobiography, The Sound of Laughter, with The Dangerous Book for Boys taking out the prestigious Book of the Year Award.

2007 Winners & Shortlists

Richard & Judy Best Read of the Year

WINNER - The Interpretation of Murder Jed Rubenfeld Headline Review

Shortlisted
The Girls Lori Lansens Virago Press
Restless William Boyd Bloomsbury
Love in the Present Tense, Catherine Ryan Hyde Doubleday
Semi-detached, Griff Rhys Jones Penguin
This Book Will Save Your Life A.M. Homes Granta
Half of a Yellow Sun Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Fourth Estate
The Testament of Gideon Mack Mack James Robertson Hamish Hamilton

Readers Digest Author of the Year

WINNER - Richard Dawkins (right),OUP & Bantam Press

Shortlisted
Marina Lewycka Viking
Kate Mosse Orion
Jodi Picoult Hodder & Stoughton

Borders Book of the Year

WINNER - The Dangerous Book for Boys, Conn and Hal Iggulden, HarperCollins

Shortlisted
The God Delusion,Richard Dawkins Bantam Press
The Island Victoria Hislop Headline Review
The Night Watch, Sarah Waters Virago
The Sound of Laughter Peter Kay Century
Suite Francaise, Irene Nemirovsky Chatto & Windus

WHSmith Children's Book of the Year

WINNER - Flanimals of the Deep, Ricky Gervais, Faber & Faber

Shortlisted
The Boy in Striped Pyjamas, John Boyne David Fickling Books
The Boy in Striped Pyjamas, Francesca Simon Orion Children's Books
Peter Pan in Scarlet, Geraldine McCaughrean Oxford University Press
Wintersmith, Terry Pratchett Doubleday
The Incredible Book Eating BoyThe Incredible Book Eating Boy, Oliver Jeffers HarperCollins Children's Books

amazon.co.uk biography of the year

WINNER - The Sound of Laughter, Peter Kay Century

Humble Pie Gordon Ramsay HarperCollins
Thomas Hardy: The Time-torn Man, Claire Tomalin Viking
Marley and Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog, John Grogan Hodder & Stoughton

Waterstones Newcomer of the Year

W victoria_hislop INNER - The Island, Victoria Hislop (below), Headline Review

Shortlisted
Michael Cox, The Meaning of Night, John Murray
Jane Harris, The Observations, Faber & Faber
Diane Setterfield, The Thirteenth Tale, Orion

Sainsbury's Popular Fiction

WINNER - Anybody Out There?, Marian Keyes, Michael Joseph

Shortlisted
Close, Martina Cole Headline
The Constant Princess, Philippa Gregory, HarperCollins
Wicked! Jilly Cooper Bantam

Tesco Sports Book of the Year

WINNER - Gerrard: My Autobiography, Steven Gerrard Bantam

Shortlisted
Pele: The Autobiography, Pelé ,Simon & Schuster
Penguins Stopped Play: Eleven Village Cricketers Take on the World, Harry Thompson John Murray
There's an Awful Lot of Bubbly in Brazil: The Life and Times of a Bon Viveur, Alan Brazil with Mike Parry Highdown

PLAY.COM TV & Film Book of the Year

WINNER - The Devil Wears Prada: Movie Tie-In Lauren Weisberger HarperCollins

Shortlisted
QI: The Book of Animal Ignorance, The QI Team Faber & Faber
An Inconvenient Truth: The Planetary Emergency of Global Warming and What We Can Do About It Al Gore Bloomsbury
"Planet Earth": The Photographs Alastair Fothergill BBC Books

decibel Writer of the Year

WINNER -Jackie Kay (right) Wish I Was Here Picador

Shortlisted
We Brits, John Agard, Bloodaxe
Londonstani, Gautam Malkani, Fourth Estate
The Inheritance of Loss, Kiran Desas Bloomsbury

2006 Winners and Shortlists

Richard & Judy Best Read of the Year

WINNER - Labyrinth Kate Mosse Orion

Shortlisted
The History of Love Nicole Krauss Penguin
The Farm: The Story of One Family and the English Countryside Richard Benson Penguin
The Conjuror's Bird Martin Davies Hodder & Stoughton
Arthur and George Julian Barnes Jonathan Cape
The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets Eva Rice Headline Review
Moondust: In Search of the Men Who Fell to Earth Andrew Smith Bloomsbury
March: A Love Story in a Time of War Geraldine Brooks HarperPerennial
Empress Orchid Anchee Min Bloomsbury
The Lincoln Lawyer Michael Connelly Orion

2006 WHSmith Book of the Year

WINNER- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Harry Potter 6)[Children's Edition], JK Rowling Bloomsbury

Shortlisted
Margrave of the Marshes John Peel & Sheila Ravenscroft Bantam Press sharon_osbourne
The World According to Clarkson Jeremy Clarkson Penguin
Sharon Osbourne Extreme: My Autobiography Sharon Osbourne (right) Time Warner
Jamie's ItalyJamie Oliver Michael Joseph
The Insider: The Private Diaries of a Scandalous Decade Piers Morgan Ebury Press

2006 amazon.co.uk Biography of the Year

WINNER - Sharon Osbourne Extreme: My Autobiography Sharon Osbourne (right) Time Warne

Shortlisted
Next to You: Caron's Courage Remembered by Her MotherHunniford Michael Joseph
Stuart: A Life Backwards Alexander Masters Fourth Estate
Margrave of the MarshesJohn Peel & Sheila Ravenscroft Bantam Press

Red House Children's Book of the Year

WINNER - Ark Angel: Bk. (Alex Rider 6) Anthony Horowitz Walker Books

Shortlisted
Eldest Christopher Paolini Doubleday
Silverfin: A James Bond Adventure (Young Bond) Charlie Higson Puffin
Wizardology: The Book of the Secrets of Merlin Dugald Steer Templar
I, Coriander Sally Gardner Orion
"...and That's When It Fell Off in My Hand." (Confessions of Georgia Nicolson) Louise Rennison HarperCollins

Sainsbury Popular Fiction Award

WINNER - The Time Traveler's Wife, Audrey Niffenegger Vintag

Shortlisted
Labyrinth Kate Mosse Orion
My Sister's Keeper Jodi Picoult Hodder
The Undomestic Goddess Sophie Kinsella Black Swan

Readers Digest Author of the Year
WINNER -Alan Bennett Faber / Profile

Shortlisted
Carlos Ruiz Zafón Phoenix
Kazuo Ishiguro Faber
John Banville Picador

2006 BCA Crime Thriller of the Year

WINNER - The Take, Martina Cole, Headline

Shortlisted
Lifeless Mark Billingham Little,Brown
The Lighthouse P.D. James Faber
We Need to Talk About Kevin (Five Star Paperback) Lionel Shriver Serpent's Tail

2006 decibel Writer of the Year

WINNER - Diana Evans for 26a (P.S.) (P.S.) Vintage

Shortlisted
Nadeem Aslam for Maps for Lost Lovers Faber
Zadie Smith for On Beauty Hamish Hamilton
Helen Oyeyemi for The Icarus Girl Bloomsbury

Waterstone's Newcomer of the Year

WINNER- A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian - Marina Lewycka Penguin
The Historian Elizabeth Kostova Time Warner

Shortlisted
The Vesuvius Club: A Lucifer Box Novel Mark Gatiss Pocket
A Year in the Merde Stephen Clarke Black Swan

2006 Borders Book of the Year

WINNER - Auschwitz: A New History, Laurence Rees BBC Books

Shortlisted
Mao: The Unknown Story Jung Chang & Jon Halliday Cape
Istanbul: Memories of a City Orhan Pamuk Faber
Persian Fire: The First World Empire, Battle for the WestTom Holland Little,Brown

Book Author 2006
WINNER - The Constant Gardener John Le Carre Hodder
Coast: The Journey Continues Christopher Somerville BBC Books
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (Chronicles of Narnia) CS Lewis HarperCollins Children's
Rick Stein's French Odyssey Rick Stein BBC Books

2006 PLAY.COM TV & Film Book of the Year

WINNER - Being Freddie: My Story So Far, Andrew Flintoff Hodder

Shortlisted
What If I Had Never Tried It Valentino Rossi Century
Race Against Time Ellen McArthur Michael Joseph
My Father and Other Working Class Football Heroes Gary Imlach Yellow Jersey

PREVIOUS WINNERS 1991-2006

The Lifetime Achievement Award

2006 Jamie Oliver
2005 Sir John Mortimer
2004 Sir David Attenborough
2003 Alan Bennett
2002 Mark Barty-King
2001 Ernest Hecht
2000 Spike Milligan
1999 Maeve Binchy
1998 Jilly Cooper
1997 Paul Scherer
1996 Wilbur Smith
1995 Delia Smith
1994 Catherine Cookson
1993 Dr. D.G.Hessayon

Richard & Judy Best Read of the Year

2006 Labyrinth Kate Mosse (Orion)
2005 Cloud Atlas David Mitchell (Sceptre)
2004 The Lovely Bones Alice Sebold (Picador)

The Book of the Year

2006 Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince: Children's Edition (Harry Potter 6) JK Rowling (Bloomsbury)
2005 The Da Vinci Code Dan Brown (Corgi)
2004 Eats shoots and leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation Lynne truss (Profile)
2003 Stupid White Men: ...and Other Sorry Excuses for the State of the Nation! Michael Moore (Penguin)
2002 BillyPamela Stephenson (HarperCollins)
2001 Man and BoyTony Parsons (HarperCollins)
2000 Managing My Life: The Autobiography Alex Ferguson (Hodder & Stoughton)
1999 Birthday Letters Ted Hughes (Faber & Faber)
1998 Bridget Jones's Diary: A Novel Helen Fielding (Picador)
1997 Longitude Dava Sobel (Fourth Estate)
1996 Delia's Winter Collection (BBC Books)
1995 Writing Home Alan Bennett (Faber & Faber)
1994 Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China Jung Chang (Flamingo)

The Author of the Year

2006 - Alan Bennett
2005 Sheila Hancock
2004 Alexander McCall Smith
2003 Sarah Waters
2002 Philip Pullman
2001 Nigella Lawson
2000 J K Rowling
1999 Beryl Bainbridge
1998 Louis de Bernieres
1997 Bill Bryson
1996 Salman Rushdie
1995 Sebastian Faulks
1994 Roddy Doyle
1993 Andrew Morton
1992 Peter Mayle
1991 Peter Ackroyd
1990 HRH, Prince of Wales

The Children's Book of the Year

2006 Ark Angel (Alex Rider Adventures) Anthony Horowitz (Walker Books)
2005 The Gruffalo's ChildJulia Donaldson & Axel Scheffler (Macmillan Children's Books)
2004 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time: Adult EditionMark Haddon (David Fickling)
2003 Girls in Tears (Girls) Jacqueline Wilson (Corgi Children's)
2002 Artemis Fowl Eoin Colfer (Viking/Puffin)
2001 The Amber Spyglass (His Dark Materials) Philip Pullman (Scholastic)
2000 The Illustrated Mum Jacqueline Wilson (Doubleday)

1999 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Book 2) J K Rowling (Bloomsbury)
1998 Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (Book 1) J K Rowling (Bloomsbury)
1997 Northern Lights (Golden Compass) (His Dark Materials) (His Dark Materials) Philip Pullman (Scholastic)
1996 The Hutchinson Illustrated Treasury of Children's Literature ed Alison Sage (Hutchinson)

The Children's Author of the Year

1995 Allan & Janet Ahlberg
1994 Anne Fine
1993 Raymond Briggs
1992 Dick King-Smith
1991 Anne Fine
1990 Roald Dahl

The Illustrated Children's Book of the Year

1995The Most Amazing Pop-up Science Book (Watts Amazing Science Books) Jay Young (Watts Books)
1994 Mummy Laid an Egg (Red Fox Picture Books)Babette Cole (Jonathan Cape)
1993 Penguin Small (Book & CD) Mick Inkpen (Hodder)
1992 Farmer Duck (Big Books) Helen Oxenbury (Walker Books)
1991 The Mousehole Cat (Book & CD) Nicola Bayley (Walker Books)

The Illustrated Book of the Year

2004 England's Thousand Best Houses Simon Jenkins (Allen Lane)
2003 Sahara Michael Palin (Weidenfeld Nicolson Illustrated)
2002 The Blue PlanetAndrew Byatt, Alastair Fothergill, Martha Holmes (BBC Worldwide)
2001 The Beatles Anthology (Cassell)
2000 Century: One Hundred Years of Human Progress, Regression, Suffering and Hope, 1899-1999. Small Edition Bruce Bernard (Phaidon Press)
1999 Ethel and ErnestRaymond Briggs (Jonathan Cape)
1998 Lost Gardens Of Heligan (Updated edition) Tim Smit (Gollancz)
1997 Flora Britannica: The Definitive New Guide to Britain's Wild Flowers, Plants and Trees Richard Mabey (Sinclair-Stevenson)
1996 The River Cafe Cookbook Rose Gray & Ruth Rogers (Ebury Press)
1995 The Art Book (Phaidon Press)

The Newcomer of the Year

2006 Marina Lewycka
2005 Susanna Clarke
2004 Monica Ali
2003 Allison Pearson
2002 Pete McCarthy
2001 Zadie Smith
2000 Sort Of Books and Driving Over Lemons by Chris Stewart
1999 Borders UK
1998 Daisy & Tom
1997 Kate Atkinson
1990 Bryce Courtenay

The TV & Film Book of the Year

2006The Constant GardenerJohn le Carré (Hodder & Stoughton)
2005 Himalaya Michael Palin (Weidenfeld & Nicolson)
2004 How Clean Is Your House? Kim Woodburn & Aggie MacKenzie (Michael Joseph)
2003 What Not To Wear: The Rules Trinny Woodall & Susannah Constantine (Weidenfeld & Nicolson)

The Biography of the Year

2006 Sharon Osbourne Sharon Osbourne Extreme: My Autobiography(Time Warner)
2005 My Life